After nearly one year of preparation, Beaumont High Schoolâs first ROTC program is set to start in the fall.

The programâs contract was approved during the Beaumont Unified School District board meeting Jan. 14.

The district received approval in December to begin preparing a program under the U.S. Air Force. The approval process is lengthy, and involves a visit from an Air Force official, who must approve the schoolâs facilities and program outlines.

Christina Goennier, Beaumontâs assistant superintendent of instructional support services, said the high school has not previously had an ROTC program due to a lack of federal funding. The Army and Navy were not accepting applications, she said.

Goennier said the program fills a hole in the one-high school district.

âWe have a lot of students who go into the military after high school,â she said. âThis gives them a leg up. It allows them to enter the service at a higher ranking.â

But ROTC students donât have to go into the Air Force specifically. Goennier said the program is equally beneficial and recognized by other branches of the military.

âBecause we donât have three or four high schools, students donât have the option to decide which ROTC branch they want to go into,â she said. âGenerally, the skills they learn will be similar among the different branches.â

Goennier said the community played a large part in getting the program off the ground. Everyone from the chief of police to City Council members voiced their support, along with senators who wrote letters of support.

The school is recruiting ROTC instructors and will use the summer for training and other preparations.

Beaumont High, which enrolls about 2,500 students, will be taking course requests shortly and expects a strong student response.

âWe should know (enrollment numbers) in the next few months,â Goennier said. âI donât believe weâll have any trouble getting people to sign up.â

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